Patrick Swayze has died, and it’s such sad news. I was really hoping he’d be able to beat the odds. Having lost my dad to pancreatic cancer, I know the odds aren’t great with that disease. Swayze was only 57.
“Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully today with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months," said a statement just released by his publicist, Annett Wolf. No other details were given.
We first learned of his illness in March 2008, but he kept working despite the diagnosis and pain, writing a memoir with …read more

In my review of "I Love You, Beth Cooper" recently, I was lamenting that just because it’s a "teen" movie doesn’t mean it has to be dumb (which, frankly, that movie was). I cited John Hughes as a great example of a filmmaker who didn’t dumb down a movie just because it features teens or is targeted at teens.
Now the filmmaker extraordinaire has passed away at the age of 59 after suffering a heart attack during a morning walk while visiting family in Manhattan. His movies, including "The Breakfast Club," "Ferris Bueller’s Day Off," and "Sixteen Candles," never …read more

Even though her health issues have been in the news for months, it’s still hard to believe that Farrah Fawcett is gone. She’s always been "there," whether it was "Charlie’s Angels" in the early years or her later career in movies and TV.
Her friends and family, including partner Ryan O’Neal, their son Redmond, and her best friend Alana Stewart, are just a few of the mourners who attended Farrah’s funeral at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

The sudden death of Michael Jackson has left filmmakers scrambling to tweak or delete any scenes involving the pop star. Such was the case with "Bruno," where a Jackson-related sketch ended up getting cut just hours before the Los Angeles premiere.
After much discussion, Universal Pictures removed a scene from the movie where Bruno, the flamboyant Austrian journalist played by Sacha Baron Cohen, interviews an unsuspecting Latoya Jackson about several topics, including her brother.
The sketch included jokes about Jackson’s high-pitched voice and his trademark white glove.
I mean, basically, the movie is really over-the-top anyway, so had Jackson …read more

Now that I’ve posted my favorite Michael Jackson video ("Thriller"), it’s time for a post about Farrah Fawcett, who died at the age of 62 today. I grew up with both of these icons, listening to Michael’s album "Thriller" and watching "Charlie’s Angels" with my mom and dad. Yes, even though it was about three hot babes, it was still a fun family show, along the lines of "Love Boat" and "Fantasy Island."
But lest we forget, Farrah also did a lot of movies during her career, including the critically acclaimed TV movie "The Burning Bed," about an abused …read more

Wow, it’s been a rough week in Hollywood, with the passing of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and now Michael Jackson. While he was known more for his music than anything else (well, and his eccentricities), I think we can all agree that "Thriller" is a great music video that really qualifies as a movie short. Here’s the short version of the smash-hit video (thanks to MTV!).

Rumors are swirling around the death of 72-year-old actor David Carradine. He was in Thailand filming the movie "Stretch" when a maid found his nude body in a closet in his Bangkok hotel room. The body was found in a sitting position, with a yellow rope wrapped around his neck and attached to a closet bar.
I mean, it sure sounds like suicide, right? Who knows for sure, and the police suspect that’s indeed the case, but Carradine’s manager doesn’t believe it.
"I can tell you 100 percent that he would have never committed suicide," Tiffany Smith, who along …read more

I was saddened to hear that Dom DeLuise passed away yesterday at the age of 75. He was always a very funny actor who rarely strayed from the goofy character he played in movies like “The Cannonball Run” and “Blazing Saddles.” It worked, so why mess with it?
The same was true in his private life, as he was married to the same woman for 54 years (a rarity in Hollywood). He’s survived by his wife, Carol Arthur, and three sons, Peter, Michael and David.

After the jump, my tribute to Dom DeLuise – my top five favorite movie roles…

I posted that Natasha Richardson died today of injuries sustained during a skiing accident. Here’s a bit more from CelebTV.com about the actress’ final hours, and the friends and family who surrounded her. It’s all very sad, and I’ll definitely be thinking about her husband Liam Neeson and their two boys in the days to come.

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BFI 52 London Film Festival: ‘The…
LONDON – OCTOBER 17: Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson arrive at the BFI 52 London Film Festival: ‘The Other …read more